Angler, 86, hasn't had wind taken from his sails

Fallbrook's Rick Wilson left on a 10-day fishing trip on the Intrepid sport boat out of Point Loma Sportfishing yesterday.

That in itself is not anything unusual. Thousands of anglers take these long-range voyages each year. What separates Wilson from the masses, though, is that he is 86 years old and this is his 74th season of jumping on boats to fish off San Diego.

These days, he's not doing as much jumping, but the fact that he's still riding San Diego-based sport boats is as much a testament to his spirit and will as it is to the luxury and comfort found on our sport boats.

The former ski bum, piano player in Las Vegas clubs and plumbing contractor lives and enjoys every minute of every day. And for the most part, he lives to fish.

“I don't know how much longer I'll be able to go fishing, but I'm going to keep going as long as I can,” Wilson said. “Fishing has been in my blood since I was a kid. The big thing is not to stop doing what you do when you get older.”

They don't get much older than Wilson on these long-range boats, and they certainly don't come any more loyal than Wilson. When he finds a boat he likes, he locks in, and right now it's Ken Price's Intrepid for long-range trips, James McDaniels' Grande for overnight runs.

“My first trip 74 years ago with my father was on the Rex that ran out of the pier at the foot of Broadway in downtown San Diego,” Wilson said.

Using primitive gear compared to the rod-and-reel technology available today, Wilson said it was common back then to load the boat with yellowtail and bluefin tuna in a day's catch.

“We used to make our own rods out of Calcutta bamboo,” Wilson said. “We called our reels 'knuckle-busters' because they didn't have any brakes, no star drag system, just a leather thumb piece on the cross bar. You'd put your thumb on the piece of leather for drag. And the reel handle spun backward, and if your knuckles got in the way, they got busted up.”

Wilson used linen fishing line and made wire leaders. To this day, he makes his own wire leaders for wahoo.

Wilson was born in Inglewood and was introduced to the outdoors by his father, who owned Dick Wilson's clothing store in Inglewood for 35 years. His father counted among his acquaintances Roy Weatherby of Weatherby guns and Jack O'Connor, the legendary outdoor writer.

Wilson used to hunt but stopped in the early 1980s and began concentrating on fishing and golf. He has fished and golfed all over the world, but each spring he's in the Sierra, catching trout and enjoying the atmosphere of Mark and Michelle Layne's Tom's Place just south of Crowley Lake.

He once lived in Mammoth, but he'd hit Tom's Place for a good steak and go to Bishop to the Elk's Lodge, where he remains a lifetime member.

Wilson didn't make it to 86 without some physical challenges. He survived a heart attack a few years ago and, upon his son's insistence, moved from Las Vegas to Fallbrook to be closer to family. He also battles diabetes and asthma.

He's in the 100-pound club for catching a yellowfin tuna that's more than 100 pounds, but he's not looking for any fish that size on this trip.

“I'll take a school of 25-to 30-pounders any day,” Wilson said. “At my age, I don't want to hook into any 300-pounders.”

His best tuna is a 111-pounder on the Qualifier 105. He also landed a 140-pound sailfish off Costa Rica a few years back.

He said his best trip ever was one he took on Mike Keating's Spirit of Adventure. He landed 11 wahoo.

His life and family history are framed in pictures on the walls of his Fallbrook home. There are pictures of his five children, grandchildren, extended Thai family, the Navy destroyer Halford, on which he served during World War II. These days he has a Kawai digital piano that he sits at and reminisces about his wife, who passed away 11 years ago, and about his long and adventurous life.

Perhaps a quotation from golf writer Mark Frost's novel “The Match” sums up Wilson's life best: “Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and proclaiming 'Wow, what a ride!!!' ”

For Rick Wilson, his 86 years thus far have been all about the great ride.